Crash kills 2; man, woman sought

STOCKTON - Police are searching for a man and a woman who fled on foot after a four-car collision that killed two people Thursday night in north Stockton, authorities said.

Jason Anderson

STOCKTON - Police are searching for a man and a woman who fled on foot after a four-car collision that killed two people Thursday night in north Stockton, authorities said.

The collision occurred about 7:50 p.m. on West Lane near West Lane Frontage Road, about a half-mile north of East Hammer Lane, police said. According to witnesses, a white Honda Passport was traveling north on West Lane about 70 to 80 mph when it ran a red light and collided with a gray Acura Integra.

"I saw the (Passport) going really fast," said Dung Nguyen, who was driving a Toyota Camry that was also damaged in the collision. "I told my wife, 'There's going to be an accident,' and told her to turn her head."

There was glass and debris strewn all over the intersection and there was major intrusion to the driver's side door of the Acura.

A man and a woman who were inside the Acura were pronounced dead at the scene, Lt. Jay Smith of the Stockton Police Department said. Their names and ages have not been released.

Witnesses said a man and a woman exited the Passport and fled north on West Lane following the crash, adding that they ran to a nearby house before disappearing into the darkness. Police later confirmed those accounts.

None of the other people involved in the crash were injured, authorities said. West Lane was closed from West Lane Frontage Road to Morada Lane and was not expected to reopen for hours.

Claudia Lopez, 18, a passenger in another vehicle involved in the crash, cried as she and her boyfriend huddled together in the cold, less than 50 feet from two yellow tarps that covered the deceased victims' bodies.

"I feel so bad for them," she said. "I can only imagine if that were us and what our families would be going through."

Contact reporter Jason Anderson at (209) 546-8279 or janderson@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/crimeblog or on Twitter @Stockton911.